Republican statesmanlike nominee, erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump, (C) greets attendees during a run halt to code Pennsylvanians who are acrophobic astir the menace of Communist China to U.S. agriculture astatine the Smith Family Farm September 23, 2024 successful Smithton, Pennsylvania.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
After Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency past week, tech CEOs similar Apple's Tim Cook, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos publicly praised the president-elect.
One sanction was conspicuously missing: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
His lack was notable considering that of each the apical tech companies, TikTok faces the astir contiguous and existential menace from the U.S. government. In April, President Joe Biden signed a instrumentality that requires China's ByteDance to merchantability TikTok by Jan. 19. If ByteDance fails to comply, net hosting companies and app store owners similar Apple and Google volition beryllium prohibited from supporting TikTok, efficaciously banning it successful the U.S.
Trump's instrumentality to the White House, though, whitethorn supply a lifeline for Chew and TikTok.
Although some Republicans and Democrats supported the Biden TikTok prohibition successful April, Trump voiced absorption to the prohibition during his candidacy. Trump acknowledged the nationalist information and information privateness concerns with TikTok successful a March interrogation with CNBC's "Squawk Box," but helium besides said "there's a batch of bully and there's a batch of bad" with the app.
Trump besides leveraged TikTok's shaky aboriginal successful the U.S. arsenic a crushed for radical to ballot against Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.
"We're not doing thing with TikTok, but the different broadside is going to adjacent it up, truthful if you similar TikTok, spell retired and ballot for Trump," the president-elect said successful a September post connected his Truth Social service.
Since his election, Trump hasn't publically discussed his plans for TikTok, but Trump-Vance modulation spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told CNBC that the president-elect "will deliver."
"The American radical re-elected President Trump by a resounding borderline giving him a mandate to instrumentality the promises helium made connected the run trail," Leavitt said successful a statement.
Trump's rhetoric connected TikTok began to crook aft the president-elect met successful February with billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and a large capitalist successful the Chinese-owned societal media app.
Yass's trading steadfast Susquehanna International Group owns a 15% involvement successful ByteDance portion Yass maintains a 7% involvement successful the company, equating to astir $21 billion, NBC and CNBC reported in March. That period it was besides reported that Yass was a portion proprietor of the concern that merged with the genitor institution of Trump's Truth Social.
TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee proceeding connected online kid intersexual exploitation, astatine the U.S. Capitol, successful Washington, U.S., January 31, 2024.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
If ByteDance doesn't merchantability TikTok by the January deadline, Trump could perchance telephone connected Congress to repeal the instrumentality oregon helium tin present a much "selective enforcement" of the instrumentality that would fundamentally let TikTok to proceed operating successful the U.S. without facing penalties, said Sarah Kreps, a Cornell University prof of government. "Selective enforcement" would beryllium akin to constabulary officers not ever enforcing each azygous lawsuit of jaywalking, she said.
At TikTok, meanwhile, Chew has remained quiescent since Trump's victory, conscionable arsenic helium had been successful the pb up to Election Day.
The Chinese-owned institution whitethorn beryllium taking a neutral attack and a wait-and-see strategy for now, said Long Le, a China concern adept and Santa Clara University subordinate teaching professor.
Le said it's hard to foresee what Trump volition do.
"He's besides a contrarian, that's what makes him unpredictable," Le said. "He tin accidental 1 thing, and the adjacent twelvemonth he'll alteration his mind."
TikTok didn't respond to requests for comment.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta testifies earlier the Senate Judiciary Committee astatine the Dirksen Senate Office Building connected January 31, 2024 successful Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
'Facebook has been precise atrocious for our country'
When it comes to societal media apps, Trump's run comments suggest he's much acrophobic with TikTok rival Meta.
In his March interrogation with "Squawk Box," Trump said Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, posed a overmuch bigger occupation than TikTok. He besides said a TikTok prohibition would lone payment Meta, which helium labeled "an force of the people."
"Facebook has been precise atrocious for our country, particularly erstwhile it comes to elections," Trump said.
But Trump's antagonistic views connected Meta whitethorn person changed aft comments by CEO Mark Zuckerberg implicit the past fewer months, Cornell's Kreps said.
Zuckerberg described the photograph of Trump raising his fist pursuing a failed assassination effort successful July arsenic "one of the astir badass things I've ever seen successful my life." And aft Trump's win, Zuckerberg congratulated him, saying helium was looking guardant to moving with the president-elect and his administration.
"My consciousness arsenic an armchair scientist of Trump is that helium truly likes radical who sing his praises, and truthful his presumption connected Zuckerberg and Meta, I would imagine, has changed," Kreps said. "He mightiness past conscionable revert to his American economical nationalism present and say, 'Let's support American manufacture and proceed with the Chinese ban.'"
Meta didn't respond to a petition for comment.
Maintaining enactment of the TikTok prohibition could besides triumph Trump governmental favour with lawmakers acrophobic astir China's planetary governmental and concern influence, said Milton Mueller, a prof astatine Georgia Tech's School of Public Policy.
"I don't spot him scoring large points politically by lasting up for TikTok," Mueller said, noting that fewer lawmakers similar Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., have opposed the ban.
Even if Trump does supply a lifeline for TikTok, it's unclear however overmuch harm that would bash to his medication since galore politicians are reluctant to publically knock him, Le said.
"They're not going to situation him due to the fact that helium conscionable got truthful overmuch power," Le said.
Since launching his TikTok relationship successful June, Trump has amassed implicit 14 cardinal followers. Given his societal media savvy, Trump whitethorn not privation to marque a determination that results successful him losing the nationalist attraction and power he's gained connected TikTok, Le said.
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